Funding Ideas
There is a lot of money out there available for deserving students and you are probably a deserving student. Finding it sometimes is just a matter of effort. Prospective students should search around in their hometowns, checking clubs and civic organizations. Once you join the College of Natural Resources and the Environment there are more than forty scholarships for which you may be eligible. Finally, the University will develop financial aid packages for accepted students who submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA on-line form). The FAFSA should be filed by February 15 to meet the University deadline of March 1. In completing the application, be sure to list the University of Massachusetts Amherst as one of the schools on your FAFSA form. The University’s school code number is 002221.
For more information on financial aid visit the University Financial Aid Office web site.
A complete list of NRE scholarships can be found here.The list below notes scholarships available to incoming freshmen.
Massachusetts Envirothon Scholarship
Massachusetts Envirothon provides a scholarship in conjunction with the College of Natural Resources and the Environment (NRE). High school seniors planning to attend the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the fall following their high school graduation are eligible to apply. The applicant must have participated in the Massachusetts Environthon program but need not have been a member of the team that went to the competition. To be eligible for the $1,000 scholarship a student’s declared or intended major must be in one of the following areas of study: Environmental Design, Environmental Sciences, Forestry, Landscape Architecture, Microbiology, Natural Resource Studies, Plant and Soil Sciences, Resource Economics, or Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation. The application must include a letter of nomination from an Envirothon coach. Coaches may nominate more than one student.
Application information may be obtained from Martha Baker, Associate Dean, NRE, mbaker@nre.umass.edu or by mail at 111 Stockbridge Hall, Amherst, MA 01003 or by phone at (413) 545-1969. Applications can also be obtained from the Massachusetts Envirothon Committee, Suite 205, 319 Littleton Road, Westford MA 01886-4104 or by phone at (978) 692-1904 or from your local Conservation District office.
Applications will be accepted starting March 1st and must be received (not just postmarked) at the Westford office no later than 3:00 p.m on the due date (usually early April).
George M. Codding and Edith H. Codding Scholarship
George M. Codding and Edith H. Codding Scholarships are available to students in the College of Natural Resources and the Environment or the Stockbridge School of Agriculture who are graduates of the Taunton or Martha’s Vineyard High Schools and Public Schools.
The scholarships, which vary in amount generally from $1,000 to $4,000 per academic year depending upon need and the academic record of the student, are renewable for four years. Applications for the 2003-2004 academic year are due June 1, 2003. Application forms are available from Martha Baker, Associate Dean, NRE mbaker@nre.umass.edu or by mail at 111 Stockbridge Hall, Amherst, MA 01003 or by phone at (413) 545-1969. Applications are also available from high school guidance offices.
East Longmeadow Garden Club
The East Longmeadow Garden Club has been awarding a scholarship for over a decade. It tends to be awarded in April to an East Longmeadow resident who plans to further his or her education in the fields of horticulture, forestry, conservation, plant/environmental sciences or related fields.
To be eligible, the applicant must be a senior in high school or a college student already pursuing these fields of study. Applications have been available at the East Longmeadow Public Library, the East Longmeadow High School Guidance Department as well as area colleges, and from the Scholarship Chairman of the East Longmeadow Garden Club, Mrs. Margaret Seminario at 137 Pleasant Street, East Longmeadow, MA 01028. Application forms are also been available from Martha Baker, Assistant Dean, NRE mbaker@nre.umass.edu or by mail at 111 Stockbridge Hall, Amherst, MA 01003 or by phone at (413) 545-1969.
New England Regional Students Program (NERSP)
New England students who enroll in a major not offered by a public institution in their home state may pay tuition of only 50 percent above the Massachusetts resident rate. If you are eligible for this program check the NERSP box on the University application. No additional application is required.